Rise and Fall
by Razgriz0x
Summary: The First Story in my "Origin of a Fallen Angel Series". Massive Crossover story, includes Rorouni Kenshin. Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I OWN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!

**Origin of a Fallen Angel**

A/N: For those of you who have read my previous work, you know how fast paced it was, as well as how it wasn't all that good. Well I've taken that same fanfic and overhauled the whole thing. Please read, enjoy and review. Thanks, Maverick0x.

Chapter 1

The room was dark. The only source of light came from the half dozen monitor screens, positioned around him. Each monitor displayed a different scene, direct feed through the eyes of his minions. The light created an eerie glow about the room, but darkness was still dominant. Every few moments, a monitor would display a new scene, a different minion's perspective... a different pawn's point of view. The figure that sat watching the screens, was bathed in darkness, the very space around him seemed to drink in the light cast from the monitors. He sat stone cold still, ever patient, ever watching. He had time; time was not a factor in his mind, for time did not touch him. He could not die; he had yet to feel the hand of death. His bodies had been destroyed, time and time again, but death had not come for him, for he was... immortal.

A monitor changed its display and the figure watching, straightened slightly. The monitor displayed the very room he sat in, he saw himself sitting and watching the monitor of himself, in an endless cycle. He sat back and smiled, the monitor switching to the perspective of an unimportant pawn. In a blur of darkness and a flash of green, he had turned himself to face his opponent, withdrew and ignited his beam saber, and swung down, severing a beam saber hilt and halting the glowing plasma blade within a centimeter of the reploid whom had attempted to sneak up on him. "I'm disappointed in you Vile. Your stealth skills have grown dull, and to think... you actually took my head once."

Vile hesitated before taking a wary step back and tossed aside his now useless beam saber. 'Damn, so close.' "Just testing my skills Lord Sigma. I appreciate the feedback, and I must say that I'm not surprised at your own skill. If I had been successful, then X and Zero wouldn't have that hard of a time taking you down either. Besides, I needed new beam saber." Sigma smirked as he disengaged and lowered his saber, "What news Vile? To come to me personally means that you've either hit a snag, or found something of enough importance to bring to my attention. Report!" Vile bent on knee before the mighty reploid in front of him, "Do I not always succeed in rising above and beyond your expectations, my lord? As you requested, I have traced the genealogy of the doctor to as far back as possible, an interesting family tree to be sure. The data is on this disc," Vile used some simple sleight of hand to make a data disc _"magically"_ appear in his hand. He casually tossed it toward Sigma, the disc landing at his master's feet. "Have fun reviewing it." Vile stood and turned to leave, "Oh yes, I almost forgot," Vile peered over his right shoulder, Sigma had obtained the disc in the split second Vile had taken his eyes off him, "There are some blueprints some new R&D project that the Hunter scientist's are working on, I figured they'd interest you."

Sigma turned away from Vile, examining the disc in his hands, "Excellent work my old friend, you have done well. I will review its contents soon, so for now, I want you to relax. Take a day or two to hone those stealth skills and await my next order." Vile did not reply... he just headed for the door. He was too busy devising a plan on how he would slay his so called _"master"_ in order to reply. Vile despised being under someone's control, he hated being weaker than anyone, and he loathed having no choice to do as he pleased without being truly free. As he reached the door, pain exploded across his sensors as his entire right arm and part of his side were obliterated. He fell to his knees and clutched at the gaping hole where his right arm and shoulder cannon used to be, only to meet charred metal and arcing wires. He turned in pain to face his master, only to stare at Sigma's back. Sigma's arm-cannon was casually laid on the headrest at the top of the chair he sat in. As the cannon reverted back into his left hand, Sigma spoke, "If you attempt to assassinate me again, I'll take more than just your arm. Now report to sickbay. Your new arm should be ready for you by the time you arrive. Don't disappoint me, Vile." With a groan, Vile stood and staggered out of the room, coolant and oil dripping from his wound, he made his way to sickbay and imagined several gruesome ways of inflicting vengeance upon his evil lord.

As Vile made his way through the corridors of the sub-terainean base, he realized that he was being tailed. 'Who the _FUCK_ is it now, and _WHAT_ do they want?' he thought. Having decided to ignore the tail, he continued on his path to sickbay. Turning a corner, two reploids came into view, both barring any further progress and the tail brought up the rear within seconds. Vile was boxed in, 'Fuck I don't have time for this shit.' "MOVE!" he shouted, but the roids stood there ground, looking at one another they began to chuckle to themselves. "It's been a while Vile." came a wheezy voice from behind him, "Yes, too long indeed, Vile. You don't call anymore," said a deep mature voice from the roid in front of him. "He's too busy licking the inside of Sigma's ass to associate with those of us too far below his notice." Announced a roid to his right.

Vile finally took notice of who had delayed his progress, and was not surprised to see their faces. "Well _Seacow_," Vile turned to address the roid whom had tailed him," for one thing, I don't give a shit about any of you, and _Drizzle Finch_," now addressing the roid directly in front of him, "I've never called you and never will, and as for Sigma's ass, _Low Minnie_," to the roid on his right, "I know that's your favorite place to be so I don't even go near that. Now all of you fucking _**MOVE!!**_" Toxic Seahorse, Storm Eagle and High Max were all Ex-Maverick Hunters and were all still considered S-Class. Vile acknowledged their rank and strength, but respect was something he did not have for them. They had each fallen so easily to their adversaries many times and now that he was wounded, they thought they could gain favor in Sigma's eyes by taking Vile out of the picture. The insults to their names made them angry, it was plain on their faces, but would it be enough to provoke them? "**GET HIM!!**" apparently so. At the sound of the command, the three maverick reploids converged on the wounded and unarmed Vile. Within a split second, Vile stalked on towards sickbay, leaving behind the broken and mangled bodies of the three roids. 'Maggots, they should know their place here.' with that thought in mind, he entered the medical ward and awaited the now maverick Lifesaver unit to repair him.

The view of the carnage-strewn hallway remained for a while longer before switching to something of slightly more importance, "Ah Vile, you should know better than to let your emotions run wild like that. Those emotions are what make you weak. They are the only things holding you back from your true potential. Oh well, one of these days I will unlock that potential. But until then... you'll always be my pawn." Sigma sat back in his chair, and smiled. His little pawn had become a knight so quickly, but if the knight was to take down the king, he had to become a lot stronger. As well learn some patience and strategy. Having just witnessed the confrontation between Vile and the other three roids, Sigma was quite pleased. The monitor switched again to display the contents of the data disc that Vile had retrieved. What he read and studied pleased him even more, he began to chuckle to himself. "Soon, very soon and I can begin. Everything is as I have planned." Sigma's smile grew wider and more evil the more he read. Once he finished reading, the monitor displayed a portrait of a young human. The man was about 30 years old, had long red hair and a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek. Sigma's chuckle grew into maniacal laughter and the purple scars around his eyes began to glow, "So, it all comes down to you. The legendary Hitokiri Battousai. This is becoming more exciting by the minute." Sigma's laughter echoed throughout the room and it continued for very long time.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Maverick Hunter Headquarters was as up to date as any military installation could be. Sleek and clean, the architecture was normal, nothing to gawk at. If not for the electrified razor wire atop the 16-foot high, two-foot thick concrete wall surrounding the base, Maverick Hunter HQ might be considered a simple suburban town. With numerous security checkpoints both outside and inside, the base was considered impenetrable... almost. Alia was certain that spies lurked all around the massive base; her suspicions had been confirming themselves everyday that she reached her workstation terminal, especially within the last week. Being an intelligence specialist, the pink armored reploid had seen little combat outside the training simulator. She also suspected that the seemingly endless supply of the human derived "Blonde Jokes", had a small role to play, but she didn't mind her desk job.

She had hunted a few mavericks before, but when her skills as an analyst were brought to light, she immediately went from combating roids, to combating information, hackers and viruses. She gained popularity and respect quickly, rising up the ranks to become the Head of Data Analysis and Navigation systems. Her promotion came just in time for the Fifth Maverick uprising, and she was assigned as a spotter, due to the position being undermanned. In spite of that, her title and status preceded her, and she was assigned to S-Class Emergency Combat Scenarios. At that time, there were only two Hunters with S-Class status, the legends themselves, Zero and Megaman X. In all her life, Alia had never imagined meeting the two heroes, let alone being their spotter. When the Eurasia Colony fell and caused the planet wide out break of the Sigma virus, her skills were put to the test once again. After the disappearance and apparent death of Zero, she noticed a change in Megaman X. But before she could attempt to console or comfort him, Sigma reared his ugly head once again, and rumors of Zero being alive started flooding in. Zero's existence was confirmed the day that X carried him through the door, a smile plastered on their faces, and both covered in battle scars. The legends were together again and they soon quelled the uprising. Life became quiet and peaceful for a while and Alia's role as a spotter was soon filled by another, so she returned to her previous work. She was called upon once again to be a spotter when the Red Alert Syndicate committed a coup. Two more uprisings followed soon after, each once again led by or involved with the nefarious Sigma. What she did not know was that she had been requested to be a spotter by X himself.

Life once again was quiet in the world... for the moment. The Hunter's received only a few requests and emergencies a week, and of those, about one or two were above C-Class. X would most likely be at the simulator, going through a training exercise, showing off agility and power. Or perhaps he would be at the gym; shirtless and working up a good sweat... Alia shook herself out of her daydream with a slight blush, 'I need to stop thinking about X like that.' she thought to herself. In order to do so, she buried herself in the mountain of paperwork on her desk; only stop when she came across a peculiar piece of paper. The paper she held in her hands was a simple information request form, but there was no signature from the requestor. The rest of the form had been filled out correctly, making the missing signature the only flaw. But that flaw was not the only reason she was confused, the information requested was just as odd. 'The genealogy of the late Dr. Thomas Light? That information hasn't been accessed since just after X was found. Who would want...' "Delivery for Major Alia!" Startled by the sudden interruption, Alia squeaked in surprise. "Whew. Axl, don't scare me like that. Have you ever heard of knocking?"

The ex-Red Alert Syndicate soldier only smiled as he handed her the bouquet of flowers that he held. "I'm sorry Alia, but I did knock. You were just too wrapped up in that mountain on your desk. I figured the only way to get your attention was to interrupt." Alia shrugged off the surprise and took notice for the first time what Axl was holding in his hands, "Oh, their beautiful Axl. Who are they from?" She took the flowers and drank in their exotic scent, Axl shrugged as he stepped out of her office, "I'm just the delivery boy. Why not read the card and find out?" As he disappeared from her sight, he left a slightly shocked Alia in a daze. The suspicious request forgotten, she reached for the blue card that sat nuzzled in the middle of the arrangement; she opened it and began to read.

"Alia,

In the time have we have known each other; I have watched you with great interest. From afar and near, you have proven yourself to be a great ally and an even greater friend. I realized not long ago that my feelings for you have grown to the pointing of needing you. To hear your voice is to hear an angel sing. To see your face, is to see beauty in mortal form. I have not been able to express my feelings for you due to the times, but now that peace has spread across the Earth, I feel that it is safe to bear my heart to you. Words cannot possibly capture the depth of my heart, especially when written down. So if you will meet me in the Lunar Garden under tonight's full moon, I will bear my soul to you and tell you what I cannot express on paper. Please come at midnight, for I will await thee at the crescent fountain.

Your Secret Admirer

Alia could only stare at the card in her hands, her mind and body went numb,' Who?' she finally thought, 'who could it be? Should I go? What should I wear? Wait. Am I really going to go? What if it's X? What if it's not? Ohhhhhhh.' Hundreds of thoughts ran through her mind. She blushed at the thought of meeting X and having him confess that he loved her... but that was impossible. X couldn't possibly be interested in her, could he? "Alia..." 'What if it really is X? Could he really be interested in _me_?' "Alia..." For the second time that day, Alia squeaked in surprise as her thoughts were interrupted. When she saw whom had interrupted her, she blushed profusely, "Um... sorry Commander X. I was just thinking about something. How can I help?" 'Oh God. Did I say anything out loud?' The blue armored reploid standing in front of her was considered handsome by many of her friends, and he was also a legend in terms of power and ability.

Having removed his helmet, X's spiky brown hair, deep blue eyes and a smile of complete sincerity made her unable to think straight. "I was wondering who sent you those flowers, Alia. They're quite nice. Aren't Roses and Lily's your favorite flowers?" Shocked that X knew her favorite flowers, Alia could only nod in response. "I thought so, whoever sent them must know you pretty well. So who's the lucky guy? Anyone I know?" His face was full of wonder and amusement as he questioned her, and Alia couldn't help but think that maybe he was genuinely happy for her. "The lucky guy? I- I don't know what you mean X." "Oh come on, tell me. A gorgeous girl like you? There has to be a boyfriend right? Who is it? Come on. You can tell me. I can keep a secret." Alia thought her face couldn't get any redder, but when she heard him call her gorgeous, she found out just how wrong she was. "I... I don't have a boyfriend." Complete and utter surprise crossed his face, "What?! You? Nooooo. Then who sent the flowers?" "I'm not sure. The card was signed 'Secret Admirer', so I really haven't got a clue as to who it is." 'I wonder why he's so concerned." X shrugged and continued, "Ok. I actually came down here to ask you something else." "Oh. What is it?" Alia stood and looked around the room to find a vase for the flowers, "Well, I received a strange request form. One of your subordinates brought it to my attention because of the peculiar information that was requested. It involves a particular human that lived during Japan's Meiji Era, but the peculiar part was, the human is my creator's ancestor. But it wasn't the data that caught my attention, it was the fact that it wasn't signed by the requestor."

Alia stiffened a little, 'another one? Hmmmm.' "I received a document very similar to yours, X. In fact, the document request's the entire genealogy of the late Doctor Light. Oh, damn." Her fingers fell just short of the pink vase that she wanted. She stretched as far as she could to reach it, when his hand snaked past hers and plucked the vase from the high shelf. "Here you go." He smiled as he handed her the vase. She took it from his hand and turned her face in order to hide the fact that she was blushing harder than ever, "Thank you." She placed the flowers in the vase and turning toward him, noticed that he hadn't moved and was only inches from her, and still smiling. "Co- could you send me a copy of the form X? I'd like to analyze them." "Sure thing, Alia. Good luck tonight, I'll see you around." As X left her office, she began to arrange the flowers to her liking, and noticed something odd. Among all the pink rose and lily petals, there was a splash of deep blue. She reached within the bouquet and pulled out a single, blue rose. 'But, blue roses are so rare, and expensive. And why only one? Why blue?' She put the flower back into the vase and sat back down at her desk. 'What am I going to wear? How should I do my hair? Wait. How did X know about tonight?'


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

One by one the droids fell to his saber. Three non-stop hours in the training room had the red armored reploid breathing heavily and a faint sheen of sweat covered his skin. He shifted his stance and awaited the next attack. His saber was held overhead; his other arm was outstretched and aligned with his left leg. A flash of green energy arced toward him; he swung down to block only to meet air. Shifting his weight and trajectory, he intercepted and parried the training droids saber. This particular droid was built for blade training, high speed and near-perfect accuracy. It was also the 50th droid Zero had faced within the intensive three hours, and he still had ten more droids to go. Each droid had its difficulty setting increased as Zero continued, and this one was set to triple SA-class. 'Now this reminds me of Sigma.' his thoughts were scarce due to the amount of concentration, and yet a smile grew upon his face. Ten minutes passed, and neither of them had gained any ground or advantage. Energy saber met energy saber in what looked like a well-choreographed and deadly dance. But Zero's smile only grew. He had always been good with a blade, and it was, for as long as he could remember, been his weapon of choice. Whenever he wielded a saber, he sometimes let his mind wander, as he did now. Distant and forgotten memories began to flow across his vision in what seemed a river of colors and light. His own body seemed to have a mind of its own and he watched himself trade blow for blow with the training droid. A memory began to solidify in his vision and he forgot all about the droid.

He looked around and found himself in an old lab, the light from the doorway silhouetting a figure standing in front of him. The man had a long mustache and the hair on the sides of his head stuck out just a little further than his mustache. He wore what appeared to be a white lab coat and as he spoke, a thick German accent made his speech a little harder to interpret. "Now, you will go and destroy him. He is mine only rrival. With zem out of zie way, nuthsing vill stop me from taking over zis pitivul vorld. Now, Go!! You are my ultimate creation. You are zie pervect veapon. Go number zeero, go and destroy Megaman!!" The old man flipped a switch and the restraints binding him were released, and he stood up. As he walked towards the door and the professor, he reached up past his shoulder for something, and grabbed a cylindrical device. He looked it over, there was a single switch on it and it fit his hand perfectly. He thumbed the switch and a blade of green energy burst forth from one end of the device. "Vhat are you doing?! I gave you an order, now follow it!! Deestroy MEGAMAN!!" The old man was annoying, so he swung the blade down, "**NOOOOOOOO!!**" cutting through him with great ease, no resistance at all. The old man collapsed before him, his eyes wide with surprise, pain and something else... terror. As the life faded from his eyes, he choked out his last words, "The Zero Virus... must be... too cough too strong for you to overcome. Ohhh... vhat hafe I done. Cough, Cough Vhat hafe I... unleashed upon zie world... cough, gasp Tho-Thomas... for.. give... me..." His dyeing breath escaped the old man's mouth as his life finally ended. Zero stood over the corpse, the energy saber held casually at his side, still pulsating with energy. He brought the weapon up and examined it closely, finding no flaws and satisfied with its performance, Zero turned off the saber and replaced it on his right shoulder. He then made his way out of the lab, smiling and anticipating his next target.

The memory blurred and faded from Zero's sight, and he began to realize that the simulator had stopped. "What the hell?" He looked around, confused, "Commander Zero," A single reploid stood behind him, 'When did he get there?' "Yes? What is it?" "If you would be so kind as to deactivate your saber, your training routine ended about 10 minutes ago. Sir." Zero stared at the roid in front of him; the statement just didn't set in completely. He looked down at the floor and saw the last ten droids laying about the room, 'It's been four hours already? What the hell happened?' disengaging his saber, Zero made his way toward the simulator's exit. "I apologize, Lieutenant, if I made you wait. I guess... I spaced out." "No need for apology, sir. Everything's fine and might I add that, the way you finished off those last ten droids was an awesome sight to behold. Sir" Zero paused in the threshold of the training room door, and he turned toward the young officer, "Oh? How so?" "Well sir, to defeat a droid at the level of quadruple SA-class is a feat in itself. But to decimate ten in a row and in under five minutes... the only words I can think of to describe it is awesome." The roid turned and began telling the computer which simulation to load, and Zero's eyes widened. He turned away and headed down the hall toward the locker room, 'Five minutes?? Shit, I've never been that fast. Huh.' He entered the locker room and began removing his armor and jumpsuit; he deposited them into the steam cleaner and headed for the showers.

Turning on the water, Zero waited a few moments for it to heat up to his desired temperature. As he stepped into the heated stream of water, his senses began to dull, his joints and muscles started loosening and relaxing. Even though 100 artificial, Zero was unlike other reploids, due to being built almost identically like a human. He had skin, muscles and even artificial organs. His creator, had seen fit to equip him with sweat glands, saliva, and other features that made him seem more human than robot, even the ability to copulate. His muscles consisted of real human contractile tissue, laced with a network of reinforced titanium threads for high performance, which allowed for actual growth with training. Zero had almost the exact same internal systems that X did, and considering the amount of human material, both roids could almost be classified as cyborgs. But, having not been born human, they weren't. Being the very first reploids in existence, he and X were as unique as any individual human, and though they had no memory of their early years, they were still considered the greatest reploids in existence. Zero reached up and undid the ribbon holding his hair in a ponytail; his knee-length blonde hair wrapped around him and became saturated with water. He stared at the blue fabric in his hand, and tears began to form in his ice-blue eyes. Lifting his face, he allowed the water to wash over him, concealing the tears that flowed from a painful memory. Though he could hide his tears, he could not stop himself from whispering her name, "Iris... oh Iris... I'm sorry." He stood there under the stream for another ten or so minutes, the hot water just running over him, washing the sweat, tears and memories away, clearing his head... if only momentarily.

Turning off the water, he grabbed his towel and began a thorough drying, wrapped the towel around his waist and went to his locker. Palming the lock, he opened it and began dressing in his civilian clothes. A pair of blue jeans, a white t-shirt and a red over shirt with black dragons. Black Enforcer boots and a red and black ball-cap finished completed the outfit and he tied his hair back into the familiar ponytail. Walking over to the steamer, he removed his now clean jumpsuit and armor, and stuff them into his duffel bag. Exiting the locker room, he headed to the parking lot of the training center and mounted his custom hovercycle. Starting the engine, he put on his black wrap-around sunglasses, shifted gears and hauled ass out on to the main road. He rode out of the base and towards the city, his apartment was downtown and traffic willing, it would be about a fifteen-minute trip. He rode in utter silence; not even thinking to himself, for thinking would only bring those confusing and painful memories back. When he finally reached the apartment, he parked his red and gold cycle next to an almost identical azure and black cycle that belonged to his roommate. Zero remained silent as he entered and walked straight to his room. He tossed the duffel bag in a corner, and launched himself onto his bed. He lay there for a moment, then reached over to the nightstand, grabbed a remote and turned on his stereo system, adjusting the volume to drown out all other sound. The music that blared from the speakers was the musical styleings of the 1980's metal band, Metallica, and the song that filled his head suited his mood. The rock ballad, "Nothing Else Matters" was exactly what he wanted to hear, and kicking off his boots, tossing his hat, Zero rolled over and closed his eyes. This time, he allowed the wave of memories to crash down on him, some sad, some happy, and some painful but almost all were confusing. He didn't focus on any of them and began to drift off. As sleep soon took him, with the harsh promise of dreams of the past and a very restless night, Zero never noticed his roommate was in the shower, preparing for a special evening.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

X exited the shower and began drying himself off, as he finished; he wrapped the blue towel around his waist and looked into the bathroom mirror. His spiky brown hair was a couple inches long and since it was wet, it hung limply around his head, 'I wonder if I should keep it straight like this... does she like straight or spiky hair?' He stared at his hair for another moment before deciding to go with his usual style. 'Definitely spiky...' X exited the bathroom and walked across the hall to his room, the sounds of 20th Century metal emanated from Zero's room, informing him that his friend had made it home, and was once again thinking about that time, 'I wonder if he'll ever get over her? She was a great reploid, and they were in love... I hope he recovers sooner or later.' X went to his closet and laid out the outfit he was going to wear, and began dressing himself. A pair of black dress slacks, a navy blue undershirt with a cobalt blue button-up on top and tucked in, a silver buckled belt and a black Fedora with a blue feather. Pulling on a pair of black western boots and his black leather motorcycle jacket, with blue striping, he was ready to go. He stopped by the bathroom to make sure he looked all right in the mirror and added a little Stetson cologne. X made his way to the garage, and hopped on his azure and black hovercycle, where he stowed his fedora with his armor in one of the saddlebags, and pulled on a pair of blue Oakley wrap-around's.

Starting the engine, X decided to try out the new feature that Douglas had installed. _"It'll only look like one of the two motorcycle's you and Zero requested. I haven't been able to encode the other style yet. Just flip the switch on here, and it should automatically project the image of the... how did Zero phrase it... "Crotch Rocket"? Anyway, the wheels will even turn as you move. I'll get the other style to you ASAP." _Flipping a small switch on the dashboard, the appearance of his hovercycle changed to look like that of a 21st Century Suzuki Hyabusa, 'Not a bad choice Zero... not bad at all.' Pleased with everything so far, X revved the engine, shifted gears and rocketed out of the garage and onto the street, 'I still have about four hours till it's time, and I still need to pick some stuff up... I hope she's there.' Pulling on to the Super Highway, X shifted into high gear and flew down the road. His exit came up quite soon and he pulled off onto a smaller freeway, his first stop was the floral shop in the heart of the city. He had placed two orders that day, the first having already been delivered... the second order was for another purpose. X wound his way through the streets that led further into downtown, the floral shop was the best in the city, and he wanted only the best for her.

Upon arriving, he parked the cycle, and entered the shop, the bell above the door rung to announce his entry. "Excuse me... Fuji-san? Are you here?" "Aahhh. It is good to see you again sir." The little old man stood from a row of Bonsai trees and walked around the display towards X. "I have your order here in the back, I will retrieve it shortly. Please wait one moment." Old man Fuji had been around for as long as X could remember; he even thought that he might have been as old as Dr. Cain or even older. "Take your time Fuji-san. I've got some spare time." The little man disappeared into the back of the store, and X began to browse through the aisles of every flower imaginable. X leaned down to admire an arrangement, when the bell above the door rang once again. X looked over momentarily and saw a few rough looking teenagers, looking like they were up to no good. "Is this the place babe? Where's the old pervert?" one of the older looking teens with a girl wrapped around his arm spoke, he apparently was the leader of the group. The teenage girl hanging off his arm was wearing way too much make-up and so little clothing that a Victoria's Secret model would've blushed. "Yeah baby. This is where it happened. The old man copped a feel and stared up my skirt for a good while. He's probably in back, whackin off to the video he's probably got of me... Oh I hope you take care of him for me Shinji baby." "Kssh. No problem doll face. I'll teach the old man a lesson he'll never forget. Look at and molest my woman will ya... HEY OLD MAN!!"

The group consisted of the leader, Shinji, the girl clinging to him, a big bruiser who didn't look too smart and a squirrelly little teen boy who kept flipping a knife around. Old man Fuji appeared out of the back and X stood. "That's him Shinji baby. That's the old geezer!" the girl screamed and pointed straight at Mr. Fuji. Shock and surprise never crossed Mr. Fuji's face, instead, disappointment and disapproval showed. "I asked you politely this morning to not smoke in here. It's not good for the flowers. If you would kindly finish your cigarette outside-" "SHUT UP, you fuckin pervert! How dare you act as if my Asuka is at fault here. You took advantage of her this morning and it's time you pay... get ready for some payback you old fuck. Kaworu... show him what happens when you mess with my girl." "Right Boss." The bruiser put his fists together and stepped towards the counter. "Oh I see you have my order there Fuji-san. I'll go ahead and pay for it now." X was already at the check out counter and had placed himself between the group and Mr. Fuji. "What the Fuck?? Who the hell are you?" "Uh, boss? What should I do about this guy?" "Damn it Kaworu, just take him out first... then get the old man." "K boss... You got it." "Why yes X. This is the order you requested. That'll be 437 credits." At the mention of X's name, the teens stiffened and stared wide-eyed, only Kaworu kept advancing. As he reached out to take X by the shoulder, the other members of the gang quickly restrained him as best they could. "Whoa there, Kaworu... Uh... never mind about these guys... we'll just be going." "Eh? But boss..." "No buts... let's just get outta here. And Asuka, smoke outside the shop from now on... it's better for the flowers." "N-No problem there Shinji." The gang backed towards the door, still staring at X and Mr. Fuji. X turned slightly and looked at them through the corner of his eye. A small smile worked wonders as the group of teens stumbled over themselves to get out of the shop. After a few moments of silence, both Mr. Fuji and X broke out into laughter, "Heh hee hee... Thank you X. I haven't had that much fun in awhile. Those kids always come around and try to mess with me. I appreciate the help." "Not a problem Fuji-san. Thanks for the flowers. I'll be going now." They bowed to each other and X left the shop.

Storing the flowers in a separate compartment of his cycle, X started the bike up and headed out of the city towards the base. He still had about 2 hours, and traffic was getting worse. By the time X arrived on base, it was about 2340. 'Traffic was really bad tonight. I hope Alia makes it safely.' Pulling into the parking lot of the Lunar Garden, X parked the cycle, grabbed the flowers and donned his Fedora. As he made his way to the Crescent Fountain, he started getting anxious. The flowers he had obtained were exactly like the ones he had sent to her that afternoon, so X took out the one blue rose, and placed it upon the outer ridge of the fountain. He then laid out a lily and a rose one by one, all the way around the fountains edge. After arranging them to his liking, he discarded the paper wrapping, and walked over to a bench hidden in the shadow of a cherry tree. The cherry blossoms were in bloom and the garden was well lit by the full moon, but X was perfectly camouflaged by the shadow of the tree. He sat and waited, anxious and nervous. His breath came quicker as he heard the approach of someone; a figure appeared beyond the fountain, the sound of high heels on concrete echoed throughout the night as the figure came nearer. A cloud moved into the moon's path, the light faded and for a moment the figure was lost to his sight. The footsteps stopped, and the only sound to be heard was that of the running water from the fountain. As the cloud moved away, moonlight flooded the garden and there she stood. Her blonde hair fell around her shoulders, she wore a pink sundress that revealed a little cleavage and some of her legs. She held the blue rose to her face, momentarily intoxicated by the aroma; she then opened her eyes and began to look around, searching for something.

It was then that X decided to make himself known to her. As he stepped out of the shadows, she immediately turned towards him, her breath caught as she moved her hands to her chest. Her beautiful face showed only surprise, but her sapphire eyes showed only relief. "Good evening Alia. I'm glad you decided to come." X slowly approached her, and Alia stood stone still. 'Am I dreaming? This is too perfect. Can this really be happening to me?' "So you were the one... Oh, X. You don't know how happy I am to know that you feel the same as I do." Her words halted X on the spot, 'She feels the same way? This is absolutely perfect.' "I'm glad to know that you feel as I do Alia." X walked the few yards that separated them and gathered Alia in his arms, their embrace lasted what seemed an eternity. X looked deep into Alia's eyes, and she could only stare back as he leaned in to capture her lips with his own. Her eyes closed as a wave of ecstasy rolled over her, she began to kiss him back, determined to show him just how much she truly enjoyed him. Their lips parted for only a moment, and they looked longingly into one another's eyes. "Alia, I-" X didn't get to finish his sentence, for at that moment, the evening turned upside down.

An explosion erupted a scant 3 meters from where they stood, throwing the two reploids to the ground a good seven meters away. X landed back first, with Alia safely held in his arms so that she wouldn't take as much damage. The Fountain was destroyed and sprayed water everywhere. As X looked around to see what had caused the explosion, his vision focused on a figure standing on the garden wall, his brow narrowed and he bared his teeth in anger when he recognized who it was. As he sat up, he looked down at the reploid in his arms; Alia was out cold, but luckily no major injuries that he could see. He stood and cradled the female roid in his arms, looking up to see that the perpetrator was still standing there. X's face contorted into anger and fury, but being unarmed, he could only hope to retreat before the second attack came. "Damn you. Why are you still alive? Is this another one of Sigma's attacks? Or do you just like to annoy me, Vile?" X began to back away slowly; Vile just stood his ground and shrugged at the question. "Why not go get your armor on and we'll find out, X." Without taking his eyes off of Vile, X backed out of the garden, the unconscious Alia held tightly in his arms. Once out of sight, X turned and ran towards the exit, he kept looking back to see if Vile was following and barely caught sight of the maverick, ghosting across the garden. As he reached the exit, X sprinted the rest of the way to his cycle and gently laid Alia down next to it. He opened his saddlebag and grabbed his X-buster, fitting it onto his arm, and also the new standard issue Axl Nine.

While he buckled the holstered gun to his hip, he heard the heavy footfalls of the roid behind him. As X turned around, he had just enough time to grab Alia and jump out of the way, as a charged energy blast destroyed the spot where he was standing along with his hovercycle. Tumbling along the ground, X landing in a crouch with his X-buster engaged and aimed at Vile. He fired off a few shots and immediately gathered Alia in his arms and ran for better cover. Vile easily dodged the covering fire and strafed X in an attempt to out flank him. Without his full armor, X was slower and didn't have his dashing capabilities, but being a reploid he could still run pretty fast. As he zigzagged across the parking lot, dodging shot after shot fired off by Vile, he realized that he would soon be overtaken. Another charged shot erupted to X's right and he went left, towards an unlit building. X saw his chance to get to Alia to safety, and Vile saw it too. Vile stopped firing and smiled; he enjoyed toying with his prey, and allowed the disadvantaged Hunter to reach safety, for the moment. X crashed through a window and rolled to a stop, Alia was beginning to come to and he had to make sure she was safe before facing vile head on. He delved further into the darkened building, and found a room with a phone and a couch.

He gently laid a disoriented Alia on the couch, "X? Wh-what happened?" "Shhh. Everything's going to be all right Alia. I need you to contact headquarters and get some back up out here. There's probably a general alarm out right now... but I need you too inform Signas that its Vile who's attacking. I'm going to divert him away from here but I'm not going to be able to do much." "X... no. Please don't go out there. He'll destroy you. Please... Please don't leave me." tears formed in her eyes as she pleaded with him not to go. He reached down and caressed her cheek, looking into her eyes and smiled. "It'll be fine Alia. I'm not going to be beaten that easily." He kissed her once, and disappeared out of the room. As he came to the exit he looked out the window, Vile was just standing and waiting. 'Damn it. Why did he have to show up now...' "What are you here for Vile? Another one of Sigma's plans? Or are you just here to piss me off?" Vile answered by throwing his head back and laughing, "X, X, X. You should know by now that when I'm involved, it's always a little of both. I enjoy ticking you and Zero off, but Sigma did send me. Now get out here so I can have my fun." X pulled back from the window and mentally checked his situation, 'Ok... my X-buster will only hold out for about fifteen minutes even with charged shots...' unholstering his Axl Nine, X ejected the magazine, 'only one full clip. So I've got 15 shots with the gun, and not much time on my X-buster... no armor, no communications... I'm really screwed here. Fuck.'

Replacing the magazine and pulling back the slide, he reholstered the handgun and readied his X-buster. 'Here goes nothing.' Bursting through the door, X fired several shots towards Vile. The maverick only smiled and jumped to avoid the shots, aiming his shoulder cannon at X, he shot three times. Rolling across the ground, the shots exploded around X. He plastered himself to another building and snaked his arm around the corner, aiming fast he began shooting at his enemy. Being in the air, Vile was unable to maneuver well and two of the shots impacted on his chest and left shoulder,"Arrrgh". As he fell back, X took advantage and brought out the handgun. He carefully aimed with his left hand at the point where Vile would land, all the while charging his X-buster. He fired three bullets as Vile slammed into the ground, each penetrating a joint in Vile's armor, the right knee, left elbow and right shoulder. Vile rolled away from the impact and came up on his knee, having three joint's taken out, he favored his right knee, and quickly fired a charged shot at the corner that was X's cover. X threw himself out of hiding and rolled to a prone position, aiming his X-buster, he released a fully charged shot just as his previous point of cover was blown apart. Vile had enough time to see and react to X's attack... but his body wouldn't move the way he wanted it too. The joints that X had so expertly annihilated made dodging the blast almost impossible. X's attack was so powerful that it tore the very asphalt apart as it made its way toward Vile; the impact was an ear-wrenching explosion, twisting of metal, and the agonizing scream of pain. Vile's battered body flew backwards through the air, and landed a good 130 feet away from the impact sight.

X began to stand, X-buster still held at the ready, and walked slowly towards the paralyzed maverick. As he closed in, the back up security unit finally arrived and X ordered them to stay back and cover him, as well as send a Lifesaver to check on Alia. The Unit obeyed his orders, and took up a perimeter around the two reploids, all weapons aimed at Vile, ready to fire at any sign of attack towards the Commander. X was within a few feet of Vile now, and he could here the hushed laughter coming from behind the T-shaped visor of Vile's helmet. "What's so funny?" "Ku ku ku ku ku... you're always so easy. Ku ku ku..." "And what the hell does that mean?" Vile lifted his head for a clearer view of the Hunter, "Don't you get it... Ha ha ha ha!" and with the grace of a cat, Vile sprung to his feet as if he had just laid down for a quick nap, the injuries he sustained were still visible, but they were only minor at that. "You were playing possum... No... You're a decoy!!" "Bingo." X disengaged his X-buster and punched Vile square in the jaw, the maverick stumbled back from the force of the blow. "You son of a bitch... where's Sigma? Where are you diverting our attention from? Tell me or I'll kill you were you stand." Lifting his Axl Nine, X fired five times, each shot hit its intended target and due to the close proximity, the damage was greater. Vile's right knee no longer existed, nor did his left and right elbows and his right shoulder was heavily torn to shred's and would not function. His shoulder cannon now lay on the ground as the fifth bullet had severed the connector.

Unable to stand any longer, Vile fell to his knee and leaned on his somewhat intact left arm, "Damn, you're actually serious for once... or are you just mad that I ruined your little date?" **BANG**!! Vile toppled forward as another bullet ripped through his left arm, taking the last of his support away. Vile looked up, and into the barrel of a charging X-buster, "Ok, ok... I can see that you truly are serious... Sigma is... he's... the remote... finished...your creator's..." **CRUNCH**!! Vile once again flew through the air, this time by the force of X's leg strength. He landed next to the patrol cars of the back up security unit, and the hunters immediately restrained him. X began to walk over, his X-buster still charging, blue and golden arcs of energy erupted from all around the legendary arm cannon. As X stopped in front of the now helpless Vile, he raised his fully charged X-buster and brought to within an inch of Vile's face, it was at that moment, that Vile felt true fear. Even Sigma or Zero had never made him fear death, as X did now, "X... Please... I... I'M SORRYYYYYYY!!" **BOOOOOM**!! The fully charged X-buster shot ionized the air as it continued on its path towards the sky. After a few moments of silence X disengaged the arm cannon and reholstered his Axl Nine. "Take him to Maximum Solitary. Set up a 24-hour watch of five guards with full assault gear. I want to know when he moves, how he breathes, when and what he eats and everything that utters from his foul mouth. NOW!!" Vile opened his eyes and stared at the back of the hunter in front of him, 'I never thought that he could be so fearsome... at least I'm out of Sigma's hands for now... I should enjoy the time off...' Vile was lifted into a containment chamber and hauled off to his new holding cell.

X stood for another minute before turning around and searching the unit for the one reploid he cared about, "Alia?" "Over here X!" The blonde reploid waved to him from the back of the medical vehicle that had arrived on the scene, a Lifesaver attending to her minor scratches. He walked over to join them, "Everything check out ok?" "Yes silly. I'm fine thanks to you... just a couple scra-" Alia was cut off as X sealed her lips with his own, her eyes closed as she kissed him back and her arms snaked around his neck. As the two pulled apart they looked into each other's eyes, "I'm so glad. I know tonight wasn't perfect, but I'll make it up to you, Alia... I promise." "You just did X." They locked lips once again and remained that way for a good while, until the crowd began to whoop and holler their catcalls at the two lovebirds. "I've got to find out what Sigma's up to... No doubt something evil." "I'm going to help you figure this out as well... we should get to headquarters and report to Signas. We'll be able to figure everything out from there." "You're right again Alia... that's why I love you." Alia froze in his arms. She searched his eyes and face for any sign of insincerity, she played his words back over and over in her head. Finding no fault or deceit in them, her face softened and her eyes were on the verge of tears, "Oh X... I love you too... you don't know how long I've wanted you to say that to me, or how long I've wanted to tell you." Their lips met once again and they embraced each other as if neither would ever let go again. "Ahem...X, Alia... come X and Alia... Do you read me?" The communication came from one of the patrol car's radio's... X reached for the receiver, "X here, reading you loud and clear Signas..." "Good, I need you and Alia to get over here ASAP. Zero's already been contacted." "We're on our way."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"So what you're saying is that a device we haven't finished testing or developing, is being tested as we speak? Somewhere in the U.S.?" The five Hunters looked at the display screen in confusion, for what they saw made no sense to any of them except the one explaining the situation. "That's right Zero. The remote has yet to be fully functional, at least by what I designed it to do but, the energy signatures that are being given off by the unknown source, match the energy signatures that were given off by our prototype during testing stages." Douglas seemed to be extremely annoyed, probably due to the fact that he was somewhat of a perfectionist. That someone else had completed his project probably rocked his world harder than ten fully charged X-buster shots. "So what exactly is it supposed to do when you complete it Douglas?" The green armored inventor looked through his bespectacled helmet at Alia and smiled, "Well, it's supposed to allow the user to travel through time, space and through different dimensions in seconds." His grin was so big that it reminded X of a small child, happy about some great accomplishment. "Ok... If the completed version allows all that, then what can the prototype do?" Douglas turned his attention on X, and the grin dissolved into a normal smile, "Just travel through time." "JUST travel through time? You're kidding right? I mean time traveling? Tell me you're kidding Douglas."

Frowning slightly, Douglas looked briefly at Axl and acted as if he was adjusting his spectacles, "Actually, the prototype was successful in time traveling during both tests. I was the test subject so I know it worked." Every jaw in the room dropped at the information, even Signas was surprised, "WHAT? Douglas... You know how important you are to this organization. How could you do something so dangerous?" "I couldn't put any of my staff at such risk... I was the logical choice." Maverick Hunters Commander in Chief let out a long sigh, "so it was successful? That's good. Does that mean that this unknown signature may be a second prototype that someone else built?" Douglas began rubbing the back of his head as he answered, "As far as I know, our R&D department is the only one conducting such research due to the risks involved. If there is another prototype, then it's built from our blueprints; and those are under top-secret authorization. Only you and I can look them up Signas." I guess that means we have a high-grade hacker on our hands... Alia, what do you think?" Everyone turned their attention to the pink reploid as she looked down for a moment and thought. Closing her eyes, she reached a hand slowly under the table and grabbed the hand of the Blue armored roid to her left. She squeezed once, and felt him squeeze back; when she opened her eyes she spoke, "X and I both received odd request forms. Each asked for information on the history and genealogy of Dr. Thomas Light. It might have something to do with that, but I'm just not sure. Do you think that maybe the reason Vile showed up was to delay us from figuring this out quicker?"

Douglas and Signas both drew back in shock, for they hadn't even considered Vile at all. Turning to a computer, Douglas began typing quickly and the display screen began to change. The energy signature's signal grew smaller as the map zoomed out; it then split in half, one side showing North America, the other showing the Isle of Japan. Zooming in once again, the epicenter of the signal grew larger on the screen showing the U.S.A. and the Lunar Garden on base appeared on the other side. "It seems that the moment Vile attacked, the signal started. I don't think this is just a coincidence anymore." Signas was posed in the classic "The Thinker" position. His mind raced, trying to put together a picture of exactly what happened. "I believe it may be a good time to interrogate Vile and get the story straight from the horses' ass' mouth." Signas looked briefly up at Zero, who was leaning against a wall, and turned to address X, "I agree with Zero on this matter. From all the Intel we've been able to gather, he would definitely be able to shine some light on the situation. How do you think we should proceed X?" Alia squeezed X's right hand again and he squeezed back to reassure her, "I don't mind. I think he's right as well. Vile might know, but whether he's willing to tell us or not is a different story all together." Everyone nodded at this and waited for a final statement. "Either way, we've got to send out some reconnaissance to the area where that signal's coming from... Axl, you're the fastest one here. I want you to take a small unit and transfer as close as you can for recon. Report every ten minutes on the situation." "Yes sir Commander Signas." "Douglas, outfit Axl with something to track that signal. If you have to go with him, do it. Just be careful." "Yes Sir." "Zero... I want you on standby at the closest base to that area. Have your unit on full alert, report ever half hour." "Understood." "X... Alia... I want you two to stay here for the time being. I've got my reasons so don't argue." "Yes sir." "Yes sir." "Alright. You have your orders... Move Out!"

The Hunters exited the room and began preparations for departure. X and Alia walked out together and made their way to the officer lounge. They sat on one of the couches, Alia resting her head on X's shoulder, X with his arm around her. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Signas walked in, "Ah X. Come with me. Alia, I want you to return home for now. I want you back within an hour, Understood?" "But..." "That's an order Alia." "Yes Sir." X looked back and smiled warmly at her as he exited the room. "So Commander, what is it you need me here for?" "I want you to interrogate Vile." X stopped in his tracks, "What? You want me to... No. No no no... I'd get to emotional... I'd more likely just beat the shit out of him." "You will interrogate Vile because he wants to talk to you and you alone." X stared at Signas as if he were a maverick himself, "He's willing to talk?" "Seems so. The guards say he's been asking for you for the past two hours." X let out a long sigh, squared his shoulders and began walking again, "Fine. But I'm not gonna like it." "You don't have to like it... just get the info we need." "Yes Sir."

X stared through the one-way glass into the interrogation room and sigh heavily. Vile sat in a chair, his arms and legs restrained for safety reasons. He kept looking down at the table in front of him; the two guards inside were ready for almost any possible action the defeated Maverick might take. Sighing once more, X steeled himself and walked into the room. As the door shut behind him, Vile lifted his head to see who it was that would be asking questions. Upon seeing X, he spoke up, "Ah... I see that they acknowledged my request to have you interrogate me. 'Bout time ya showed up." X said nothing and calmly sat down in the chair across the table from Vile. He looked at the guards posted on each side of the maverick, "You two can step outside until I call for you." The guards looked at each other in hesitation, then looked at X for confirmation. "Don't worry. I can take him myself if he tries anything stupid." The guards nodded, satisfied with the answer and exited the room. Silence hung in the air for a few moments until Vile spoke, "Look... I'm just doing what I'm told to do. If I don't do it, He'll kill me and you know it. I'm just trying to stay alive. Besides, I'm sick and tired of taking orders fro-" "Where is He testing the device?" Being interrupted was one of Vile's pet peeves, but he was more surprised at the question itself to care. "How did you find out so fast?" "So it's true then? You're just here to distract us while Sigma begins his plans. So tell me... Where is He testing it? Why did he build it? What is His plan?"

Vile sat in silence for a few moments and pondered his situation. X waited patiently for him to answer, not once showing any signs of impatience or desperation. To Vile, X was in complete control of the situation. He began to chuckle lightly, and X only lifted an eyebrow in suspicion. "Heh heh heh. You really are too sincere X. You're also too simple-minded. Your not even asking how he got the idea to build it." "We already know how... I just wanna confirm myself." "Ah... so you figured out that as well huh? Well then I guess we won't need to go into detail on how I obtained the information on that device, as well as for the other information." His T-visored helmet hid Vile's smile, but X just knew he was attempting gloat about his abilities. "So why is Sigma so interested in this," opening a folder, X glanced quickly at its contents, "Himura person? What is he planning that it involves a human that lived over 300 years ago?" Vile smile disappeared and he sat back to think, "I have no idea what Sigma's true intentions or plan is involving this Human... but I can guess. The human is a direct ancestor of Dr. Light... correct?" X nodded his head slightly in response, "Ok then. In order to fulfill his goal of eliminating you, He'll probably eliminate your creator's ancestor, thus your creator will never exist, there-by eliminating you." X's eyes widened in shock, 'All this just to get rid of me? Sigma, you've gone too far this time.' X rose from the chair and stepped towards the door, "What do you plan do to do X? What about me?" X paused for a moment, and turned his head to look at Vile, "I plan to do what I can to stop Sigma for good. As for you... looks like you'll be sticking around here for a while yet." X buzzed the door and the two guards entered the room and took their positions at the Maverick's sides. X stared back for a moment longer before exiting the room.

Making his way through the corridors, X contacted Signas to report his findings. "So that is Sigma's plan? We have no idea how this will affect our present time. We'll have to approach this with caution." "I agree, Sir. How's Axl doing on Recon?" "You'd better head over to Zero's location ASAP, X. It looks as if the situation has become more complicated." "Understood. I'll head out immediately." X began making his way to the transfer room for the trip. As he entered, X was surprised to see Alia waiting for him. "I'm coming with you. I'll monitor the situation and update you on any changes that may occur while we're there." "Alia! No... It's too dangerous. I want you to stay here and -" "I'm coming with you and that's that. I'm not going to lose you now. I couldn't bear it X. Please." Tears began to form in Alia's eyes as she pleaded with X. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "Alright. X to Commander Signas..." "Go ahead X. What is it?" "I'm bringing Alia with me. She'll act as spotter for this mission." "Understood. Hurry X. Zero's last transmission was pretty frantic. He's earnestly awaiting your arrival." "Copy, X out." He took Alia by the hand and they stepped on the transfer pad together. The operator entered the destination and began the countdown, "Transfer in progress. Transfer in progress. Transferring two Hunters to Maverick Hunter Outpost Delta Four, Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States of America. Transfer in three... two... one... Transfer!" X and Alia turned transparent, and disappeared in a flash of translucent blue and pink lights.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Starving was nothing new to him. He would eventually find something to eat, he always did. The dumpsters outside the base were always a treasure trove of food and drink, but there was a lot of activity going on tonight. He would have to search elsewhere for a meal tonight. As the child wandered along the streets, he looked up at the night sky and saw two flashes of light streak through the air toward the base. One was blue and the other was pink, 'Two more, huh? I wonder if their friends of the Red and Orange ones that I saw earlier?' He wandered on through the city, and decided to try around the outskirts and in the suburbs for a meal... but trash day wasn't for another two days. After two housing developments and three apartment complexes... he ran a hand through his long, dirty red hair and decided to head back to his sleeping spot. The woods around the town wouldn't have anything too dangerous, and the half a pizza he had found along with two half filled bottles of water had given him some strength and filled his stomach.

The pizza was about three days old... but to him, it was a feast. Following the small game trail, he made his way through the woods towards a giant Spruce. The bottom branches bent down to the ground offering perfect shelter from rain and shade during the day. It was spacious enough for him to crawl through a small opening and sit up in as well as lay spread out on the ground. The tree had been his home for about two years now, but it seemed like forever. Before entering his hideaway, he took one last look around the densely wooded area to see if there was anything that may hurt or threaten him. He jerked at the snapping of a twig and a flash of movement caught his eye. He stared in the direction for a few moments more, and then entered his home. Stretching out, he yawned as he lay down, sleep rolling over almost immediately. Axl let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't seen the kid or twig until he was almost on top of them. 'What is a kid doing out here. I should call it in and have someone get him out of here. It's gonna get real dangerous soon.'

He jumped into an Aspen tree about 78 feet from the kid's spruce and contacted Delta Four. "This is Recon Alfa Leader to Delta Four." "Copy Alpha Leader, this is Delta Four. What do you need?" "Alia? That you?" "Yes Axl. X and I just arrived an hour ago. What do you need?" "Well there's a kid out here. I thought we might wanna get him outta here before things heat up. I'm only about 200 yards from the target and he's sleeping under a giant Spruce tree." "Roger that Axl. Set a silent transponder and continue Recon. We'll send someone out immediately." "Roger. Continuing Recon. Axl out." Axl ceased communication and jumped back down to the ground again. He made his way carefully to the Spruce tree and set down a small box, flipped a switch to turn it on and turned to leave. 'I hope they get him outta here soon.' Axl took one last look at the tree and leapt away towards his intended destination, unaware that kid had heard everything he had said and was watching him leave. Crawling out of the tree, he picked up the device and threw as far away as he could. 'I'm not going to leave. This is my home now.' With that firmly set in his mind, he crawled back into his tree and fell back asleep.


End file.
